Women's Lacrosse

Bears Return Home to Host Columbia

Apr 03, 2009

April 3, 2009

The Brown women's lacrosse team returns home to host Columbia in the first of two straight home games in the next four days. Saturday's match-up against the Lions marks the first game this year to be played on Stevenson Field, as the Bears' first four home games were all played at the Berylson Family Fields. Live audio and video of the game will be available through B2 Networks. The Bears will look to push both their overall and Ivy League record above .500 against Columbia, as they enter the game with a 4-4 overall record and a 1-1 mark in the Ivy League. The meeting between the two schools is the 12th all-time with Brown holding a perfect, 11-0, record against the Lions. Last season, Brown posted an 11-7 win over Columbia, which marked the first time in five seasons that the game was decided by more than one goal. After winning games by at least seven goals in 2002 (15-4) and 2003 (13-6), Brown and Columbia battled to four straight one-goal decisions with the Bears winning all four, 12-11 in 2004 and 2005, 10-9 in 2006, and 11-10 in 2007. In last year's win, Lauren Vitkus '09 led Brown with three goals, while Jesse Nunn '09 and Kara Kelly '10 each scored twice. Molly McCarthy '10 had a goal and an assist.

Scouting Brown
Brown is 4-4 on the season, and enters Saturday's game, having lost two straight. After posting a thrilling come-from-behind victory over UConn (14-13) in double overtime, the Bears dropped a heart-breaking, 10-9, decision to Oregon and then fell to #16 Dartmouth, 16-1, last Saturday to close out the month of March. Freshman leading scorer Katelyn Caro led Brown in both of its games last week with four against Oregon and the only Bears' goal against the Big Green.

Caro currently leads six different Bears who all have reached double digits in scoring with 18 points (17g, 1a), while freshman Kaela McGilloway adds 15 points (10g, 5a). Senior Jesse Nunn has accounted for 14 points (12g, 2a), in only five games, while junior Molly McCarthy has 12 points with a team-high 12 assists. Senior Kelly Robinson (10-1-11) and Lauren Vitkus (8-2-10) are the other Bears with at least 10 points this season. Junior Kiki Manners leads Brown with 12 caused turnovers, while Vitkus leads the Bears with 17 ground balls and 16 draw controls. Freshman Isabel Harbey has played every minute in net this season, and has posted a .390 save percentage with a 10.94 goals against average.

Scouting Columbia
Since picking up a 9-6 win over American on March 10th, which improved Columbia's record to 5-0, the Lions have gone 0-4 in their last four games, losing to Cornell, 11-8, Lehigh 15-13, Penn, 16-11, and Princeton, 15-5. On Wednesday night against the Tigers, Columbia trailed by just four goals (9-5) with 11:38 remaining after back-to-back tallies by junior leading scorer Brittany Shannon. However, Princeton closed the game with six unanswered goals in the last 10:58 for the 15-5 final. The Lions are led by Shannon's 30 points (26g, 4a), while senior Holly Glynn adds 28 points on 22 goals and six assists. Senior Rachael Ryan (17g, 1a), sophomore Gabrielle Geronimos (12g, 4a), and senior Lauren Olsen (11g, 5a) round out the top five scorers on the team. Glynn leads the Lions with 17 draw controls, Ryan leads the Lions with 15 ground balls, and freshman Amanda Goodhart leads the Lions with 12 caused turnovers. Senior Emma Mintz has played the majority of time in net, and has posted an 11.61 GAA with a .425 save percentage.

Among the Ivy League's Best
Through games of March 28, 2009, several Brown players rank among the top performers in the Ivy League. Senior Jesse Nunn is 6th with 2.40 goals per game, while freshman Katelyn Caro is 8th in the same category, averaging 2.12 goals per game. Junior Molly McCarthy is second in the League with 1.50 assists per game, while Nunn is ninth in the League with 2.80 points per game. Nunn and senior Lauren Vitkus are tied for fourth with two game-winning goals, while Nunn ranks fifth in the League with 5.80 shots per game. Freshman Isabel Harvey is sixth with 7.12 saves per game.